Corixa Corporation, a developer of immunotherapeutics, announced that it has signed license and supply agreements with Aventis for the use of Corixa's RC-529 adjuvant in the development of several potential infectious disease vaccines. The agreements grant Aventis Pasteur, the vaccines business of Aventis, co-exclusive and nonexclusive worldwide rights to Corixa's RC-529 adjuvant for use in multiple disease fields. The agreement includes a provision for Aventis Pasteur to add additional non-exclusive vaccine fields in the future, subject to their availability and future payments to Corixa by Aventis Pasteur.
Under the terms of the license agreements, Aventis Pasteur will pay Corixa up-front license fees, and success-based milestone and royalty payments. Under the terms of the supply agreement, Aventis Pasteur has committed to placing annual orders for supply of Corixa's RC-529 adjuvant based on clinical trial and commercial forecasts. Additional details regarding the agreements were not disclosed.
"We're excited to have Aventis Pasteur as a new partner for our adjuvant business, particularly as the agreement provides for Aventis Pasteur's use of RC-529 in multiple infectious disease vaccines," said Steven Gillis, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer at Corixa. "This agreement follows on the heels of several important milestones for our adjuvant business, including regulatory approval of the first infectious disease vaccine containing our RC-529 adjuvant."
An adjuvant is a formulated compound or additive that, when combined with a vaccine, boosts the body's immune response to the antigen contained in the vaccine. Corixa's adjuvant technology is based on the fact that certain microbial products have long been recognized as potent immune system regulators and have been shown to induce production of a broad range of known cytokines, a class of substances that are produced by cells of the immune system and can affect the immune response. Modifications of these microbial products and their physical and biological delivery to the immune system can influence the way cytokines are expressed, as well as the recipient's own physiological responses. Such responses mimic the normal, protective responses that are initiated during microbial infection or injury. With its partners, Corixa is evaluating its adjuvants in adult and pediatric vaccines that are designed to be safe and more effective in protecting against a broad range of diseases.
As a totally synthetic molecule, RC-529 can be formulated for a variety of applications including intranasal and pulmonary vaccines, and is capable of producing both mucosal and systemic immunity. RC-529 is currently under evaluation in a number of vaccines.